User blog:Brady26/Deathbrand
Gathering what they could salvage from the raider's hideout, the group heads back to Renebach village to recover from their fight with the Son of Sarportan. The Village Constable Returning to the halfling village with their dwarven dragonsoul captive, the group rested in the Old Tree Inn, with Rack and Lukas sharing a large bed built for humans together whilst Darion rested in the house of Gisduise, the constable warden of the village, which also served as the village's jail. In the morning, Lukas began to regale the children of the village with tales of the defeat of the Son of Sarportan, though he embellished the story a little to make it seem more daring. Meanwhile, Rack and Darion interrogated the prisoner they had taken, Darion casting him into a Zone of Truth that prevented him from speaking a lie. Rack took the lead, demanding answers for where the halfling, Abus, had been taken, occasionally darting outside to confirm some details with Gisduise. They learned that some of the other dragonsouls had taken the halfling south to a place called the River's Bend Hall. Deciding that it was their duty to rescue this man, they set off south, taking Abus' old cart with them as Sal pulled it. They decided to leave the dragonsoul with the constable, who was a bit concerned that he was a dangerous but said she would contact the Blackwater Blades as soon as possible to take him away. Tales of Fire As they left the village they saw Sycamore, the halfling druid that had transported them to the village, who called over Khez who greeted them and offered to travel with them as he required their aid on behalf of the Shepherds of the Falkanah Plains. As they travelled they determined it would take them over a month to reach the River's Bend Hall in pursuit of the dragonsouls and the halfling. As they travelled Khez told them of the threat of Deathbrand, a red dragon that was terrorising the Storm Giants in the Plains, as well as their conflicting beliefs over whether they should take part in this new Dragon War, or keep to themselves. Lukas, Rack and Darion in return told him of their tale of their return to the Green Dragon's Lair and the fight with the Son of Sarportan. The River's Bend Hall Arriving in Drakenperch the group reached the River's Bend Hall where they found much revelry going on. Lukas and Rack entered the packed food hall as Darion stayed outside to make sure nobody ambushed them inside, Khez meanwhile went searching for some witnesses. Rack and Lukas managed to get seats inside and started asking some of the patrons some questions, finding out that this celebration had been going on for a few days and that a halfling man named Johan owed the hall, as well as the fact that the king had taken credit for slaying the half-dragon what was terrorising the countryside. Outside, Khez spoke with a donkey that was left alone in the yard tied to some wheel device, finding out that wyvern riders can come and gone in the cover of night, and that they travelled with a halfling, though the halfling did not leave the hall with them. Asking the owner some questions, they learned that strange men in red outfits did arrive but he told them to leave and they did not stick around, but since then strange things have been happening below the hall. A foul stench has been rising up from the sluice where the food falls from the hall's grates that lined the floor, he sent two of his workers to investigate but they never returned, and he's been making so much gold he was not willing to close down. He invites the group to investigate if they are looking for someone. Under the Reveler's Feet Meeting back up, the group pool their information and resolve to go into the storeroom below and investigate it. Khez descends first as the rest of the group waits in the busy kitchen, he finds a lot of food on hooks hanging from the ceiling beneath the kitchen. As he investigates he gets the feeling he is being watched but cannot locate the source of the feeling. Calling up to his allies who descend the steps and start moving through the room, Rack walking amongst the haunches of meat whilst the others stick near the stairs. As Darion was still descending, Lukas spotted something moving near Rack who turned as Lukas started to speak, when suddenly the haunches and cuts exploded in a flurry of bone and gristle that reformed into skeleton shapes that lunged at the group. As they formed, Lukas and Khez noticed a trail in the blood pools on the floor, like a stone skipping across water creating ripples that zigzagged its way through the room before blasting open the door at the other end. Before they could investigate that, the horde of skeletons attacked. Cutting them down, the group moved through to the other room, with Khez darting in after his quarry. There he saw three great piles of bones, food and broken plates, with a foul stench coating the air. Khez moved into the room but saw no target, readied himself for an ambush. Lukas and Rack followed him in, and as Darion stepped over the threshold, the fallen bones of the undead minions they fought reformed into a great skull that swarmed over Darion, snapping its maw shut over him and dragging him back into the room, slamming the door shut. From the piles of discarded food two corpses slumped out, from their bodies erupted two wraiths, each manifesting with bones clinging to their forms, and from the largest pile, a figure made entirely of bone rose up to attack them. Battling the undead wraiths and the abomination of bone as food and cutlery from above fell down upon them, the ghostly beings draining their vitality as they fought. Eventually, Lukas managed to climb atop the mountain of food and slay the creature with his black sword. The other wraiths falling soon after, as Darion broke down the door, a swarm of his own spiritual guardians warding off the undead spirits that lingered in the air. The Tomb of the Forgotten Knights Searching the piles of food, the group found the two corpses of the men Johan had sent down days ago as well as the unconscious old halfling from Renebach they were looking for. Rack meanwhile had followed the sluice that led to the river, finding a fork in the tunnel that led to somewhere that was carved, calling back to the others to follow him. Khez and Lukas said they would go whilst Darion took the halfling back upstairs to the cart to heal him. As Khez and Lukas met up with Rack they noticed the carvings on the walls of the tunnel depicting angels in flight. At the end of the tunnel they reached a cavern with a large stone slab depicting an angel with a downward sword, though a hole had been opened up into the stone revealing a hidden chamber behind. Moving in quietly, Khez could just make out a stone slab with a figure rest atop it. Taking a step in, Khez's honed danger sense kicked in and he felt there was some threat in the room, noticing barely perceptible glowing runes on the stone slab, which he now realised was a stone coffin with a edifice on top of it, he stepped outside to see if Rack or Lukas had anything that could bypass what he believed was a trapped coffin. Despite Khez's warnings, Lukas stepped inside the room when a spectral figure rose up from the stone, locking eyes with Lukas and spoke inside his mind, saying; "chaos will not prevail". After that the runes fades and the group continued on. The tomb contained more stone coffins and traps, the group bypassing some, and triggering others as they moved around the tomb. They found a room where two lovers had been laid to rest across the room from one another, a pool of clear water marked with runes in an unknown language, and a room where a knight's sarcophagus had been opened, murals on the wall depicting a knight wielding a flaming sword. Inspecting the body inside the stone coffin, it was obvious the knight had been holding something in their hands but had its fingers pried apart. In the last room, Rack attempted to outrun any traps that might be in the chamber, though as he sprinted in, bars fell around the room trapping him inside as two angel statues unleashed volleys of radiant energy at him. Khez managed to lift the bars blocking him and Lukas from Rack, who was too concerned with grabbing a treasure chest to help, as Lukas managed to pull down the statues firing bolts at them as he crawled beneath the bars. With the traps disabled, they dragged the two treasure chests in the room to another chamber, Rack using his dwarven locksmith to open one, and then the other with the same copy of the key. Inside they found a number of valuable gems and gold pieces they divided amongst themselves. The Halfling's Tale As they left the tomb the discussed what might have happened, Khez believing that the halfling must have known something about the tomb and brought the cultists there to find the items they took from the knight's grave. Ascending the steps to the kitchen they informed the owner that the threat had been dealt with, but that all the food below was spoiled by the undead creatures that they slew. Johan asked them to leave as he tried to salvage something from all this. At the cart, Darion was watching the halfling, whom he had tied up in case he tried to flee. Khez told Darion that there was a pool of water in a tomb of knights below that he believed might be of some significance to Darion, perhaps giving the spirits of the Hallowed Assault some peace, Darion setting off to investigate. The group neglecting to provide any details on the many traps the dungeon sported. Reviving the halfing the group started asking him a number of questions, occasionally cutting across one another and interrupting the elderly man as he spoke. Much of what Khez suspected was true, that Abus knew of the artefact in the tomb, which was a friend of his, a knight named Edris. He claimed to have designed many of the traps for the dungeon, and apologised when Rack showed off an injury he had suffered when one of the traps struck him. Abus had travelled with Edris long ago when he was young, and the River's Bend Hall was the spot where he and his friends would meet after their adventures to plan their next one. Edris was buried in a tomb nearby as it was his favourite spot, years later the other members of his order were also buried their and new members were inducted in the waters. When the group wanted to know how he ended up in a pile of food, he claimed that when the cultists captured him and made him bypass all the traps in the dungeon, he betrayed the trust of his dead friend, and when they disturbed his spirit, it pursued them, the cultists hurling the halfling at it rather than fight it. He suspected that the phantom of his friend wanted to torment him rather than just kill him. Satisfied with the answers the halfling had given them, the group decided to go to the local city, and rather than wait for Darion to undergo whatever epiphanies that awaited him in this forgotten order's tomb, Rack dashed down after him and told him to come back. Together the group left for the capital of Drakenperch. The Duke's Lair Waiting for a few days in the city, getting Abus well fed and ready to travel back home, Rack and Khez searched for some magic items to buy as Lukas worked on some alchemical concoctions. Deciding to pay a visit to Duke of Drakenperch, the group presented their rite to the castellan who took them up a labyrinth of passages to a room where the Duke was being fitted for a new suit. Rack asked for magical weapons or items of that nature as well as transport atop the duke, who took offence at his request, claiming that all he is required to offer them is sanctuary in the city as a member of the Noble Alliance, but as a member of the Unbidden he promises to provide them with transportation south. Khez informed him of the threat of Deathbrand, the Duke more interested in what the giants were offering to slay this dragon, Khez stated that there was division amongst them on whether to aid in the coming conflict, and he hoped that this could sway them into helping. The Duke agreed to help them, thanking them for slaying the Son of Sarportan, who they described to him, the prospect that Tiamat was sending her minions from the Eyrie to aid the cult worrying him greatly. Returning to the Dragon's Cup Inn which became occupied by the local guardsmen, evicting all other patrons, they waited for the Duke's messenger. Eventually a woman in red and white striped clothes arrived and set up a teleportation circle in the inn to send them to Drenden, where they had a circle set up. Stepping into the circle the group was transported into a cramped storage shed atop a cliff in southern Drenden, where cannons fired below them out to sea. The Obsidian Pass Leading the way to where the giants last met the Enclave, Khez brought the group to a large tree where a goliath, Kord, tended a grove. He greeted Khez and told him of the other members of the Enclave, rangers from the north that had come to find the dragon Deathbrand, tracking him to a pass into the Skyspitter Mountains. With the directions he gave them, they travelled south towards the volcanic mountains, belching smoke into the sky. On the second day of their travels they reached the Obsidian Pass, the ground being torn apart by some influence. They passed a gravesite of an Enclave member, and ahead they see three half elf rangers that spot them wave them over, a fourth ranger introducing himself as Bladewreathe. He explained that they had tracked the dragon beyond the pass, but were unable to get past a Iron Guardian that blocked the passage, the group agreeing to attack it whilst the rangers provided them with cover. Assaulting the unmoving guard, the group surrounded it and began to bombard it with their attacks, Rack noticing that his flaming sword seemed to allow the golem to repair itself when he struck it. The construct belched forth a terrible poisonous cloud from its furnace body and struck at Lukas, Darion absorbing the blow as the brute stabbed him through the eye slit of his shield, stabbing into his helmet. Eventually, Khez managed to strike the metal giant's leg causing it to fall to one knee, taking the opportunity the barbarian struck the head off the body, a great jet of superheated gas escaping from its vent. Behind them, Bladewreathe ordered his rangers to start running as he could feel something was wrong, the two groups running down the pass as jets of gas burst out around them, Khez managing to shield one of the rangers, absorbing the heat from the geysers with a quick ward he conjured. As the group approached an old mine tunnel Darion was struck by a massive burst of air that threatened to overwhelm them, the half-ogre raising his shield against the jet of air to allow everyone else to get into the tunnel, which began to shift and rise, and as Darion and another of the rangers followed behind they were cut off from one another, the three rangers, Lukas, Rack and Khez all tumbling down the tunnel as the ground shifted around them. The Dead Forges As the group took a moment to rest, the rangers moved ahead to see what lay at the end of the tunnel, the group following soon after. They saw a great bridge spanning a chasm lit by a river of lava that flowed beneath it. Crossing the damaged bridge was a line of undead thralls that dragged behind them sacks of ore or hunks of metal they brought from elsewhere, all marching into a great doorway where the sound of rhythmic pounding could be heard. Taking a moment to see if he could sense anyone below, Khez sensed that there was only one living person below them beyond the threshold of that doorway, Bladewreathe too sensed that the dragon was also beyond that gateway. Deciding to cross the bridge, the group tried to blend in with the line of thralls, who they saw all had eyes of burning red coals. While at first they managed to blend it quite well with the thralls, one of their oversees approached the group and seeing an opportunity, Rack rushed the undead mage, separating him from the other, as they fought their way across the bridge, Rack leaping through a wall of fire to reach the other overseer, preventing him from escaping. Reaching the doorway where they saw four great forges, each being manned by undead duergar that toiled under the eyes of their burning overseers. Above them hung more of those iron golems, most of them unfinished, the enslaved thralls assembling the constructs with brute force rather than any finesse. They saw that there were many people moving about the chamber and at the far end another large sent of doors led on to another chamber filled with bright light. Sneaking past the forges, the group managed to bypass the first group of duergar, one of the overseers speaking in another language to Lukas who seemed to do whatever it is the creature wanted him to do as they made their way to the end of the corridor. Fire Emerging into the final chamber, the group saw the red dragon, Deathbrand, was chained up on a platform, a figure in red robes draining its elemental core which they saw was held in an exposed ribcage, with much of the dragon's flesh having been torn away. It too was a thrall of this mage. Calling out to it, the mage spoke with a voice that echoed from the lava, saying only one word; fire. The mage mounted Deathbrand and conjured a fire elemental that he began to empower. Khez and Rack were terrified of the dragon as it thrashed and shook the whole chamber, sending bursts of lava shooting from the ground, Lukas leaping from platform to get to the dragon, but as he was about to reach it, it broke from its chains and began to flay around the chamber. Rack and Lukas flanked it, Rack focusing his mind and body to purge himself of the fear as Lukas fired shots from his crossbow at the mage rider. Khez destroyed the elemental, conquering his fear he stood against the dragon, giving Lukas the chance to leap onto its tail, clambering up its length to attack the rider directly. Rack firing a shot from his shortbow at the rider as they fought, the creature's flaming body exploding as it swore that its true self would burn them for this. As Lukas hung on, the dragon rolled, knocking him off into the lava below, slamming onto a ledge before striking the burning liquid rock, his body shutting down as the pain overwhelmed him. Khez was about to run to save Lukas when Rack shouted out to deal with the dragon and he would save him, relying on his innate resistance to fire to avoid anyone else getting hurt. Stepping up onto a pile of ore and scrap metal, Khez slashed at the dragon with Hazirawn, cutting open the beast's throat which spilling out a stream of liquid fire as its' wings failed it, failing into the lava which engulfed its flesh as it sank below the surface. Flight from the Horde Rushing to help Lukas, Rack dragged his unconscious body out, which still clung to life, Rack feeding him the potion he got from the half-orc salesman in Okarthel, and administered as much aid as he could do in the middle of a volcano. Khez hoisted up Lukas and they set off from the heart of the mountain back through the forges, Rack wanting to stop and loot rooms, despite the horde of undead thralls and their overseers that threatened to overwhelm them. They darted down a passage, Khez following his instincts to survive, Rack following his instinct for greed, finding the rangers hiding in one of the rooms he tried to search. The rangers saw the dire straits that Khez and Lukas were in and led them down the corridor to where another forge lay unused, its bridge having collapsed long ago, behind them the horde of undead shambled after them being driven forward by their overseers. Rack reluctantly followed behind, leaping over the bridge after the others where they saw that their were many undead on this side as well, though these were toiling away inside mines or dragging ore from tunnels. Bladewreathe led them to a passage that they hoped led to another mine shaft like the one they entered initially. Travelling up the tunnel, avoiding the undead miners who occasionally turned against them as they moved past, with two of the rangers falling to their burning claws until they found themselves reaching daylight, the tunnel leading to a mineshaft exit that was over a hundred feet up into the air. Sliding down the obsidian rock they reached the bottom of the pass where they saw Darion and the other ranger were trying to dig away some of the rubble to reach them. Meeting back up, Lukas and Khez slumped against the rock as Darion began to restore them as best he could, the worst of Lukas' injuries fading away. Category:Blog posts